LIVE: Ugly Kid Joe with Dallas Frasca, Tim Mcmillan – Perth, 6 Dec 2017

Shane | 12 December 2017 | Reply

LIVE: Ugly Kid Joe with Dallas Frasca, Tim Mcmillan – Perth, 6 Dec 2017
Capitol Theatre, Perth – Wednesday, 6 December, 2017
Reviewed by Kevin Curran

Ugly Kid Joe were in town to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the record America’s Least Wanted. Personally, this was the very first record I bought with own money, and judging by the packed attendance tonight this record is a favourite to many others as well.

The first act to open the night was acoustic artist Tim Mcmillan, accompanied by violinist Rachel Snow. Both extremely talented, the average punter would have a hard timing nailing down what it is they are hearing with elements of many styles making up the sound – I even heard the term ‘goblin guitar’ thrown about. Tim is a highly entertaining guy who I guaranteed will give you a few laughs with his quirky stylings. If you’re after something that’s entertaining and a bit left-of-centre, check Tim out next time he is town.

The more straight-to-the-point rock of Dallas Frasca was up next. Perth crowds are notorious for being a little hesitant with their reactions but Dallas worked her butt off tonight engaging the crowd and by a few songs in she got them right where she wanted them.

Ballsy female vocals from Dallas and big riffs courtesy of Axeman Jeff Curran (great name, by the way) ensured the crowd was well and truly warmed up for the headliners.

Being the 25th Anniversary of their debut record, the band was here to play America’s Least Wanted in full, but unlike other bands that employ this concept, UKJ changed the rules by mixing it up, adding songs from other records in between to break it up. It’s a tactic that made proceedings far less predictable, and that can only be a good thing.

It was great to see Dave Fortman back on the stage with the band. To be honest, having seen UKJ many times previously, the chemistry that came from having the majority of the original members who started doing this 25 years ago was obvious on stage tonight.

Frontman Whit Crane vocally was on another level, holding the crowd like putty in his hands and having them interacting at every opportunity possible.

It was great to hear some tracks from the band’s later records. They’ve made some great music in the last couple of years, and No-one Survives from the Stairway To Hell EP tore the house down!

Once again changing the rules, UKJ ended the show with Everything About You, which proved to be a masterstroke as it left everybody in attendance feeling like they’d possibly seen the show of the year in Perth.

I would not be surprised if it isn’t too long until we see UKJ grace our shores to follow up from this gig. In essence UKJ are a really tight dynamic band with great songs and that will always get people coming back for more.

How about Menance To Sobriety next time lads?